This beer is a beast! Usually you don't see such grace and balance with bigger Stouts. From roasted, wood, booze and sweetness, it all comes together. Seriously, this one gives some of the more hyped Imperial Stouts something to think about. A true ticker, beer geek, hunter or whatever, should be seeking this brew out.

A: The beer is absolutely jet black in color. It poured with a two finger high dark tan head that died down a bit and left a thin layer of bubbles covering the surface and a small collar around the edge of the glass.S: There are moderately strong aromas of coffee beans n the nose along with some hints of roasted malts.T: The taste shares some similarities with the smell in terms of flavors of coffee beans and also has notes of whiskey and hints of roasted malts The roasted toffee beans linger throuh the finish and overall become stronger as the beers wrms up.M: It feels medium-bodied on the palate and has a moderate amount of carbonation.O: For a beer of this strength, the alcohol is well hidden from the taste.

Received this as an extra in trade with BA BrettHead. Enjoyed out of a 22 oz brown bomber with a production date of October 2013. Poured into an oversized 33 oz snifter.

Appearance (4.0) - Pours a rich, dark brown that pretty much comes across as black. Holding it up to the light reveals some shades of charred wood brown, but it's not very capable of letting light through at all. Atop the body sits a half to three-quarters finger of mocha colored foam that provides a blanket of head with just a few places where a larger bubble has burst, revealing the dark liquid beneath. Retention is moderate and before long, that blanket has turned into an intermittently dispersed film. Lacing is almost nonexistent, save for a few speckles on the sides of the glass as I drink it down.

Smell (4.0) - I'm a bit surprised at how well the coffee continues to power through 10 months later. I've never had this fresh, so I don't know how aggressive it is normally, but to me, there is just a really nice amount of the roasty brew infused into this beer. French roast and bittersweet chocolate interplay up front, and there is a hint of oak and whiskey hidden behind the pleasant bitterness from the coffee/cacao.

Taste (4.0) - Here, the coffee seems to have succumbed to the extended time period, but what's left is a nice roasted highlight to the roasted grains and malts contained therein. At this point, it hits the palate with the essence of coffee, rather than being a straight-up assault of arabica. This allows the bittersweet and chocolatey goodness of the nibs to shine, providing a nice sweet counterpoint to the more astringent elements of the barrel, with notes of whiskey, vanilla and wood.

Mouthfeel (3.75) - Medium-to-full bodied, with moderate-to-low carbonation. It's a bit thin, but not unpleasantly so, and that is to be expected from barrel-aged beers, I suppose. There is a lingering but pleasant bitterness on the palate after the beer is long gone. Makes for a great digestif.

Overall (4.0), a really nice barrel-aged beer. I'm happy to have been able to try this one, but since it's ultimately no easier for me to get than any of my favorite, hard-to-acquire barrel-aged imperial stouts, I'm not likely to have it much moving forward. At the very least, it has me curious to try some of Epic's other offerings, as this was my first.

A - Black, solid, with red-brown highlights, and slight traces of tan head.

S - Barrel, booze, hints of vanilla, chocolate, and grassy hop notes.

T - Following the nose, the front is a wall of whiskey booze notes, woody and full. The middle comes in with big coffee and bitter chocolate notes, acidic. Flashes of char, tobacco and ash underlie the roast core. The close is narrows to a bitter line, hops coming in here with the bitter grassiness, but mostly this is the bitterness of deeply, profoundly roasted malts and coffee.

M - Silky and full, slightly oily and slick. Bitterness is present and the booze is hot and forward. This is not a beer that hides its walloping ABV.

O - Don't ignore the "Big Bad" here. This is a monster beer, fat and full, ready to lay you down in the river. Drinking it is an experience, with each drink offering up new elements. A masterly brew.

Pours an opaque black with a dark khaki head that settles to a film on top of the beer. Thin streaks of lace form around the glass on the drink down. Smell is absolutely fantastic with dark roasted malt, cocoa powder, and huge coffee bean and coffee ground aromas. Taste is of dark roasted malt and a flavor very similar to tiramisu that has been dusted with cocoa powder and coffee grounds. There is a nice roasty bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a lower level of carbonation with a medium body. Overall, this is a good stout with an outstanding aroma but the taste just doesn't match up.

Appearance: Pours a beautiful, completely opaque, pitch-black color with a half of a finger of chocolate-colored head that dissolved away into a thin lacing of foam that partially covered the top of the beer.

T: delicious. fresh coffee is upfront followed by a bit of chocolate, a hint of oaky vanilla, and just a touch of bourbon on the finish. alcohol is well hidden, though there is a slight burn on the finish. I would like just a bit more bourbon to come through.

M: thick and creamy. low carbonation, as it appropriate for the style.

O: this is an incredible beer. I'll definitely be seeking this out again.

Batch # 36 ABV = 12.4 % . Very nice Imperial stout brewed with Cocoa Nibs, coffee , aged in whiskey Barrels !!! This is a great stout coffee forward with smooth cocoa dark flavor . Just got better as , I drank it over 2 hours & the last sip was the best !! Wow I will look for more of this A.S.A.P.!! Epic , very well done great job !! Thanks for brewing A Top A++ Beer that will age well with time !! Love this beer !!! WOW !!!

The holy grail of all stouts ever created. Tastes like liquid cocoa puffs with just a little bit of coffee and booze. This one went down in just a matter of minutes, it was that good. Way better than any other stout I've had, even better than world class BCBS in my opinion. Will be buying this WHENEVER I see it. Never in a million years would I have guessed that it was 11.5% ABV. almost too easy to drink. Batch #48 I believe.

Poured into an imperial nonic pitch black with a one finger deep mocha colored head atop that stuck like glue to the glass,no light getting thru this even when held up to the light.Mocha java aromas really stick out,wow like a Starbucks mocha java no joke.Heavily roasted flavors with only light alcohol imparted sweetness,faint smokiness lingers,the chocolate flavors are there but dont lend much sweetness just cocoa flavor.Thick and lush in the feel,hey to me Epic makes really really good beers and this is true to form.

Overall: Dangerously sessionable. I have a bottle of this release aging at home. Very excited to see how this turns out.

Update 10-4-14: opened one of the release 27 bottles I was cellaring. So awesome. Even more dangerously sessionable than before. Just... wow. This puts Speedway Stout to shame. And I LOVE Speedway Stout.